Award of Merit:

Foolscap Studio for The Commons South Yarra

Foolscap Studio is an award winning Australian interior architecture practice delivering experientially driven design. Working with local and international clients, they have applied their multi-disciplinary approach across sectors, including reimagining the hybrid workplace, creating people-centric student living, multi-residential, wellness and accommodation, through to destinational retail and hospitality concepts – all of which are driven by connecting people through interaction and communal experience. 

The studio’s work engages with the cultural contribution of spatial design while also addressing technical, commercial and site-specific constraints. Most of all, their work tells stories, reflecting a strong belief in the power of conceptual design and storytelling to build purpose and create value for people, for places, and for their clients. They achieve this through meticulous design and a commitment to the highest standards in execution at every scale. 

The collective contribution of Foolscap Studio’s expert team, led by founder Adèle Winteridge, draws upon decades of experience, and combined with collaborations with some of Australia’s leading industry practitioners, resulting in ground-breaking projects that set the studio apart – gaining international recognition. They continue to work with strategists, researchers and production innovators, including sustainable technologists, makers, suppliers and construction experts. The studio is adept at creating spatial design outcomes that address the needs of complex stakeholders, audiences and cultures, while always seeking ways to achieve ongoing design and sustainable innovation executed through highly detailed, adaptive and rigorous design delivery. 

Foolscap Studio believes in the ability for design to push boundaries, to challenge the status quo, and improve the way we live within and experience spaces. The studio continues to work with design-led companies, individuals, institutions and organisations that share their aspiration to bring new and challenging ideas into existence.

About the Project

The Commons South Yarra provides an updated vision for what coworking will look and feel like in a post-pandemic milieu. Our conceptual design response, led by ideas of ‘work meets wow’ and ‘serious fun’, redefines the workplace while acknowledging the opportunities and obstacles of the work-from-home model. 

Our design solution was consequently led by what ‘you can’t get at home’, with an emphasis on collaborative spaces, specialist facilities and amenities that feed a culture of community and social interaction. We researched the local demographic and surrounding businesses, through which we uncovered a niche for creative industries including fashion, e-commerce and tech start-ups. 

Conceptually, South Yarra is a maturation of The Commons’ previous fit-outs designed by our studio. ‘Serious fun’ seamlessly integrates wow spaces within the workspace, with colourful and fluid moments scattered throughout each level. This strategy is based around the idea that The Commons South Yarra is a place where members choose their own world and revel in constant contrast. 

The material palette reflects a gradation of tone, from the light-filled reception on ground floor to the moodier events zone on level four. Spaces are connected by a custom staircase rising through the social common areas on each level, encouraging physical activity and chance encounters. Indigenous-designed textiles and warm blackbutt flooring ground the project firmly in place, and introduce a new Australian vernacular to the brand. 

The project presented some major challenges for us to resolve. With the project traversing four levels, the budget required a highly strategic application of finishes, joinery and furniture. Its Melbourne location also meant we were affected by numerous, extended and strict COVID-19 lockdowns; the number of contractors allowed on construction sites was heavily restricted, and much of the design, documentation and design management needed to take place at home. This gave us first-hand experience and special insight into what we missed specifically from our workplace environments.

Category: Place

Designers and Project Team:
Adèle Winteridge (Director)
Emily Minchin (Project Lead)
Kirby Humphries
Akiko Bamba
Samuel McIntyre